Cakra Khan Reveals the Real Reason for Not Appearing on the AGT 2023 Live Show
Singer Cakra Khan finally revealed the reason for not continuing to the America's Got Talent 2023 live show round. Apparently, after discussing the song and the concept of his performance at the live show, the organizers did not provide further confirmation.
Cakra Khan's appearance at the talent search event America's Got Talent 2023 grabbed the public's attention, especially the Indonesian people. In July 2023, the America's Got Talent YouTube channel uploaded a video of Cakra Khan auditioning with the song No Woman No Cry by Bob Marley. He received a standing ovation, including from all four judges and was declared successful, but the public wondered why he did not appear at the live show scheduled for early September.
“That's right (I) got YES (from the four judges). As it goes, we (with the casting producer) are still talking, we've started choosing songs, concepts, all kinds of things. They asked to free up the schedule for live shows, late August to early September. I don't know why I was cut. "Even though we started chatting at that time, I took part in the live show too," he said when he came to the Tempo office on Thursday, September 14 2023.
He realized this after seeing the video of the successful candidates uploaded to AGT's official Instagram. In the video, Cakra Khan's face cannot be seen so this means that he did not qualify for the final. He also explained that it was possible that not only him, but several contestants who passed were also unilaterally expelled.
Cakra Khan was asked to vacate his schedule, but was suspended
Cakra objected a little when asked to clear his schedule because he had postponed all his work, but in the end he didn't receive any news. "If I really don't want to be included in (the live show), why do I have to leave my date blank, like that. So I'm not working, sis. Oh, that's my profit," he said.
Cakra Khan when interviewed at the TEMPO office, Palmerah, Jakarta, Thursday, September 14 2023. The visit was in the context of promoting his new song entitled "Tennessee Whiskey" and telling about his experience participating in America's Got Talent (AGT) 2023. TEMPO/M Taufan Rengganis
According to Cakra, the reason why he was not given clarity until now by the America's Got Talent is because his life story was deemed not interesting enough for a television show. However, he can understand because AGT is a television show, just like in Indonesia.
"I think maybe there were several things that during the interview they were really looking for stories from me that could be brought up. I wanted to tell them something like that. I wanted to talk about my career, I've already told them. That's why I thought, 'Oh, maybe that's okay,'" he said.
On the other hand, the singer from Pangandaran is still learning lessons after appearing as a contestant. For that reason, he didn't really mind this. “Yeah, I don't understand, sometimes it's unpredictable. But I also don't want to focus too much because that's where I can benefit. "I also studied there because I was trained again by a vocal trainer there," he said. Cakra added that he also received job offers abroad as a result of appearing on AGT.
The Beginning of the America's Got Talent Team's Approach to Cakra Khan
Unlike contestants in general, Cakra was first contacted directly by America's Got Talent casting producers in 2022. They admitted that they found Cakra Khan via YouTube and saw the video of his cover there. At that time, Cakra didn't dare to respond because he didn't really believe it when someone contacted him via the internet.
He said, "I'm afraid of scamming, right? Then I told my manager to really look at the website, everything. "Finally, it's true that the person who contacted was indeed AGT's casting producer."
Cakra Khan and AGT then agreed that he could appear on America's Got Talent 2023. After a while, he was prepared to leave for America with accommodation covered by the event organizers. For three days he prepared, and on the third day he auditioned directly by judges Simon Cowell, Sofia Vergara, Heidi Klum, and Howie Mandel.
Cakra Khan Bongkar Alasan Sebenarnya Tak Jadi Tampil di Live Show America's Got Talent 2023
Penyanyi Cakra Khan akhirnya membeberkan penyebab tidak lanjut ke babak live show America's Got Talent 2023. Rupanya, setelah berdiskusi soal lagu dan konsep penampilannya di pertunjukan langsung, pihak penyelenggara tidak memberi konfirmasi lanjutan.
Penampilan Cakra Khan di ajang pencarian bakat America's Got Talent 2023 menyita perhatian publik, terutama masyarakat Indonesia. Pada Juli 2023, kanal YouTube America's Got Talent mengunggah video Cakra Khan saat audisi dengan lagu No Woman No Cry dari Bob Marley. Ia mendapatkan standing ovation, termasuk dari keempat juri dan dinyatakan lolos, tetapi publik bertanya-tanya mengapa ia tidak muncul di live show yang dijadwalkan awal September lalu.
“Kan itu (saya) dapat YES tuh (dari keempat juri). Itu berjalan kita (bersama produser casting) masih ngobrol, udah mulai pilih lagu, konsep, segala macam. Mereka minta kosongkan jadwal untuk live show, akhir Agustus sampai awal September. Enggak tahu kenapa saya di-cut. Padahal dari awal ngobrol waktu itu, saya ikut live show juga,” ujarnya saat datang ke kantor Tempo pada Kamis, 14 September 2023.
Hal itu ia sadari setelah melihat video kandidat lolos yang diunggah Instagram resmi AGT. Di dalam video, tak terlihat wajah Cakra Khan sehingga diartikan bahwa ia tidak lolos ke final. Ia juga menerangkan bahwa kemungkinan tidak hanya dia, tetapi beberapa kontestan yang lolos pun dikeluarkan secara sepihak.
Cakra Khan Diminta Kosongkan Jadwal, Namun Digantung
Cakra sedikit keberatan saat dimintai mengosongkan jadwal karena ia menunda semua pekerjaannya, tetapi pada akhirnya ia juga tidak mendapat kabar apa pun. “Kalau memang saya enggak mau dimasukin (live show), kenapa harus kosongkan tanggal saya, gitu. Jadi saya kan enggak kerja mbak. Aduh itu cuan saya,” katanya.
Cakra Khan saat diwawancarai di Kantor TEMPO, Palmerah, Jakarta, Kamis, 14 September 2023. Kunjungan tersebut dalam rangka promosi lagu barunya yang berjudul “Tennessee Whiskey” serta menceritakan pengalamannya mengikuti America’s Got Talent (AGT) 2023. TEMPO/M Taufan Rengganis
Menurut Cakra, penyebab dirinya tidak diberi kejelasan sampai detik ini oleh pihak America's Got Talent karena kisah hidupnya dianggap kurang menarik untuk sebuah tayangan televisi. Namun, ia bisa memahami karena AGT merupakan sebuah acara televisi, sama halnya dengan di Indonesia.
"Saya mikirnya mungkin ada beberapa hal yang ketika wawancara itu memang mereka sangat mencari cerita dari saya yang bisa diangkat. Saya ya mau ceritain apa gitu. Saya mau nyeritain karier saya, saya udah ceritakan. Makanya saya mikirnya ‘Oh mungkin oke lah,’” ucapnya.
Di sisi lain penyanyi asal Pangandaran itu masih mengambil hikmah setelah tampil sebagai kontestan. Untuk itu, dia tak terlalu mempermasalahkan hal ini. “Ya, enggak ngerti lah kadang memang tidak bisa ditebak. Cuman saya juga enggak mau terlalu fokus karena dari sana pun saya dapat benefit. Saya pun belajar juga di sana karena saya dilatih lagi sama pelatih vokal di sana,” ungkapnya. Cakra menambahkan bahwa ia pun mendapat tawaran pekerjaan di luar negeri sebagai hasil dari tampil di AGT.
Awal Mula Pendekatan Tim America's Got Talent pada Cakra Khan
Berbeda dengan kontestan pada umumnya, pertama kali Cakra dikontak langsung oleh produser casting America's Got Talent pada 2022. Mereka mengaku menemukan Cakra Khan via YouTube dan melihat video hasil cover-nya di sana. Saat itu, Cakra belum berani merespons karena ia tak begitu percaya ketika seseorang mengontak melalui internet.
Ia mengatakan, “Saya takutnya scamming kan. Terus saya suruh manager saya untuk benar-benar dilihat sampai ke website, segala macem. Akhirnya benar nih orang yang kontak itu memang dari casting producer-nya AGT.”
Pihak Cakra Khan dan pihak AGT kemudian sepakat bahwa ia bisa tampil di America's Got Talent 2023. Selang berapa lama, ia dipersiapkan untuk berangkat ke Amerika dengan akomodasi ditanggung oleh penyelenggara acara. Selama tiga hari ia melakukan persiapan, dan di hari ketiga ia mengikuti audisi yang dihadapkan langsung oleh juri Simon Cowell, Sofia Vergara, Heidi Klum, dan Howie Mandel.